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A complex and withdrawn individual, Severus Snape's life was overwhelmed by many intricate emotions that he never fully revealed. At times, Snape appeared cold, cynical, malicious, bitter, and sarcastic. He possessed a commanding presence that exuded gravitas, authority, and control; like Professor McGonagall, he had the ability to maintain a calm classroom effortlessly. He was prone to holding grudges and was extremely cruel to those he disliked. In particular, he despised Gryffindor students, considering them arrogant and attention-seeking. Descriptions of his social interactions as a child suggest that he had poor interpersonal skills and may have suffered from depression.

P4 Severus Snape Giving
Snape making Harry and Ron concentrate.
Snape was a repressed, solitary man with no friends. In his early life, he was insecure, vulnerable, and yearned to be part of something better. As a child, the bleak normality of working-class suburbia, compounded by his neglectful Muggle father, instilled in him a disdain for the ordinary. This urgent desire to be part of something powerful and important was what drew him into Lord Voldemort's inner circle. Snape's bitterness and resentment toward the world were further exacerbated by the relentless bullying he endured at school, causing him to withdraw even more. Snape was not a prejudiced individual, despite the Death Eaters' belief in pure-blood superiority; rather, he was anti-Muggle, presumably due to his bitter experiences with his father and Petunia Evans, but he harbored no ill will toward Muggle-borns. His reason for scolding Lily Evans by calling her a Mudblood was to avoid appearing weak in front of his fellow Death Eater students, who held views of royal supremacy. He also deeply regretted this, as it ultimately ended his friendship with Lily.

Severus Snape was a thin man with pale skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He usually wore black robes that made him look "like a grown-up bat." He had long, greasy black hair that framed his face in curtains, curled lips, and dark, penetrating eyes that seemed like tunnels. As a Death Eater, he bears the Dark Mark on his inner left forearm.

The younger Snape had a "pale, rigid appearance," being "round-shouldered but angular" and with a "nervous walk that recalled a spider," as well as "long, greasy hair that fell over his face."

Snape had a strong authoritarian presence. He spoke in a quiet, controlled voice most of the time, except on the occasional occasions when he lost his temper. Snape was also one of the tallest professors at Hogwarts.

Snape never saw the place where he grew up as home. Rather, like Voldemort and Harry, Hogwarts was his true home. It is likely that he suffered neglect as a child. His parents appear to have had a dysfunctional, even abusive, relationship. It is strongly suggested that this troubled and lonely childhood may explain his severe demeanor, depression, sadness, bitterness, and outbursts of rage, as seen later in his life.

Despite having a father who disliked the wizarding community, Snape was quite skilled with magic even before receiving his Hogwarts letter. Sirius Black would later comment that, when they first arrived at the school, Snape knew more curses than many of the seventh-year students. He seems to have had a slightly better relationship with his witch mother. During his school years, he nicknamed himself the "Half-Blood Prince." Furthermore, it's very likely that Eileen gave her son most, if not all, of his school supplies. Her advanced potions book was, according to Harry, at least fifty years old.

From at least 1996, Snape stayed at his family home during the summers between school years. What happened to his parents is unknown. As he was only thirty-six in 1996, his parents may well have been alive, but they moved away and left the house to him. His salary as a Hogwarts professor likely allowed him to buy other summer accommodations, but his childhood memories of Lily may have prevented him from leaving the house.

Snape's friendship with Lily Evans was probably the only thing that truly brought joy to his life. He met Lily at a very young age, recognizing her one day as a witch while she and her sister Petunia were playing in the park near their home; she had flown from the swings and made a flower grow from a bud. Longing to escape his humbling family life, Snape immediately tried to befriend her. Despite the fact that Lily came from a Muggle family, he never truly saw her as one of them because he was in love with her.

Snape's relationship with Dumbledore was one of close trust, but not unwavering loyalty. Dumbledore was Snape's headmaster at Hogwarts and was impressed by Snape's academic abilities. Snape likely didn't feel genuine loyalty to Dumbledore as a student and may have resented the latter's failure to stop the torturous bullying Snape endured at the hands of the Marauders.

The Marauders were a group of four Gryffindor boys with whom Severus developed a bitter and antagonistic relationship throughout his school years. The group consisted of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Severus and the first two Marauders took an instant dislike to each other when they first met in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Throughout their time at Hogwarts, the Marauders (except for Lupin) and Snape relentlessly harassed each other. The Marauders never missed an opportunity to play a cruel prank on Snape, and vice versa.

From the day Harry set foot in Hogwarts, he and Snape hated each other. Despite Snape's commitment to honoring Lily's sacrifice, he couldn't judge the boy objectively because of his connection to James Potter, who had bullied him during his school days. In fact, Snape was filled with nothing but contempt and bitterness toward Harry, who reminded him of both Lily and James. Harry served as living proof that Lily had loved another man (whom she hated), and Snape wasted no time in constantly comparing him to his father.

Snape criticized Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger whenever possible, likely because they were friends with Harry and also Gryffindors. Although Snape rarely found fault with Hermione's work, he never gave her credit and sometimes accused her of being an "insufferable know-it-all." Despite this, Snape saved their lives in 1993 when Professor Lupin transformed into a werewolf.

Snape appeared to be on good terms with the Malfoy family. Lucius Malfoy was a Slytherin prefect when Snape began attending Hogwarts, and the two moved in the same social circles, which included other future Death Eaters. Snape and Lucius likely worked together as Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. It is unknown whether Lucius ever suspected Snape's true allegiance, though he probably believed Snape was genuinely loyal to Voldemort. Lucius continued to think and speak well of Snape later in life. Perhaps because of this, Snape also favored Lucius's son, Draco. Draco seemed to admire Snape, once sarcastically stating that he would make a far better headmaster than Albus Dumbledore.

Severus became a Death Eater after Hogwarts. During his time at the school, he was a member of a "gang of Slytherins who would later become Death Eaters." This gang included Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Avery, Mulciber, Evan Rosier, and Wilkes. Lily Evans couldn't understand how he could be friends with them, as they had a "wicked sense of humor." It's unknown how close Snape was to the members of this gang; however, he seemed somewhat defensive when Lily spoke ill of Mulciber and Avery, implying at least some level of intimacy with them.

Minerva McGonagall was generally on good professional terms with Snape. However, given that Snape was Head of Slytherin House, while McGonagall was Head of Gryffindor, there was a certain antagonism between them, as Snape often mocked McGonagall when Slytherin had more points than Gryffindor. McGonagall was also troubled by the fact that Snape had once been a Death Eater. Nevertheless, she trusted him because she knew Dumbledore trusted him as well. She also didn't hesitate to call him out when she thought he was being too cruel. McGonagall, like Snape, was very strict, but much fairer, as Harry Potter pointed out. McGonagall had been Snape's Transfiguration professor when he was a student and likely admired his brilliance.

Snape disliked most of the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructors, including Quirinus Quirrell, Gilderoy Lockhart, Remus Lupin, and Dolores Umbridge. While this was at least partly due to his own desire to teach the subject, he had legitimate reasons for disliking them: Quirrell was an agent of Lord Voldemort, Lockhart was a narcissistic fraud, Lupin had acted as a bystander, if not directly involved, in much of the bullying Snape faced during his school days, and Umbridge was a corrupt woman who wanted the entire school under her control.

Neville Longbottom was perhaps one of the worst Potions students Snape ever taught. As such, Snape was especially cruel to him and often mocked his failures in class. On one occasion, Snape threatened to test Neville's Shrinking Solution on Trevor's toad, even though the potion would be poisonous if not brewed correctly. Even outside of his own class, Snape didn't hesitate to offer harsh opinions of Neville.

This treatment made Neville extremely nervous around Snape, and further contributed to his poor performance in Potions. Neville admitted in 1993 that Snape was his greatest fear, and, unsurprisingly, Snape was the form Neville's Boggart took at that time.

Snape was not popular with most students at Hogwarts. He was quite strict and had high standards. He refused to allow any student into his O.W.L. classes unless they achieved an "E" grade on their O.W.L. exam in the subject (many other Hogwarts teachers would still accept the next highest grade, "S," for their advanced classes). At the start of the 1995–1996 school year, he warned his fifth-year students that he expected everyone to achieve some kind of passing grade on their O.W.L. exams, even if they did not intend to try for his O.W.L. class. Anyone who received a poor grade would have his "dislike" dealt with.